NTFS partition accidentally turned into a unknown filesystem type

Question

I had an XP partition set as my boot partition, set to the left of my Windows 7 partition. I deleted the XP partition and expanded the 7 partition to the left. I tried to restore the MBR using ms-sys -m /dev/sda. After that didn't work I tried the same thing, except with -w instead of -m. Now, the Ubuntu Live CD shows the partition as an unknown filesystem.

I've tried the following:

• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fix-corrupted-windows-ntfs-filesystem-ubuntu/
• How to fix a damaged/corrupted NTFS filesystem/partition without losing the data on it?
• How can I restore my "Unknown" partition type, back to NTFS?

Solution

Boot up with the Windows 7 DVD. Select the language and click Next. In the lower right corner, click Repair your computer (instead of the giant Install Now button in the middle of the screen).

Choose the Windows installation, click on an Administrative user, then OK. You'll see the Command Prompt as the last or second to last option. Click that.

Type bootrec /fixmbr and press Enter. Then type x:\boot\bootsect /nt60 all /force, replacing x: with the DVD drive detected, then press Enter. Then type bootrec /rebuildbcd and press Enter. Assuming it finds the Windows installation, you're off to the races

Comments

[David]

If you Master Boot Record has been altered (which is what it sounds like) you are at the point of no return normally. I have never been able to recover an entire partition. Also, if you have been using your computer since then, you page file has probably written over those sectors on the hard drive causing the possibility of getting the data back to diminish completely. Sorry for your loss...